Walking with a smartphone is dangerous to your health: Crazy accidents drive home a new reality

A young Taiwanese tourist fell off a pier in Australia while distracted by using Facebook on her smartphone.
Courtesy photo

The tourist fell off of St. Kilda Pier into Port Phillip Bay while utterly distracted by her cell phone.
Photo by Lyn_Gee/Flickr

Be careful when checking Facebook on your smartphone while walking as it recently caused a Taiwanese tourist to walk off the end of a pier in Australia.

The young woman, who has not been identified, was so engrossed in checking Facebook on her phone that she managed to fall off St. Kilda Pier in Melbourne, plummeting into the chilly waters of Port Phillip Bay.

In spite of the ordeal, she managed to keep a tight grip on her phone throughout.

According to police, the woman did not know how to swim and instead floated on top of the water — with the assistance of her backpack — until help arrived. In spite of the ordeal, she managed to keep a tight grip on her phone throughout.

While it may be shocking to some, this isn't the first time a cellphone has caused this to happen. In March 2012, a 45-year-old woman was so focused on texting that she fell off a pier into Lake Michigan.

Research suggests the average user checks their phone at least every six minutes, or around 150 times a day, so it's not all together surprising that incidents like this occur.

So next time you decide to walk and check your smartphone, use your best judgment and don't do it anywhere near a large body of water.